GAHANNA, Ohio, Feb. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AEP Ohio, a unit of
American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), today received approval from
the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to implement its gridSMART Phase 2 Plan.
The plan includes the installation of 894,000 smart meters in 31
communities throughout Ohio over
the next four years.
In addition to smart meters, AEP Ohio will expand the use of
automated equipment on its distribution system to reduce
restoration times, reduce the number of customers affected when
power outages occur and allow crews to work more safely. The
company also will utilize technology, known as Volt Var
Optimization, which reduces energy usage without any action
required by the customer.
"These advanced grid technologies will give our customers
information to better manage their energy use and save money, while
enabling AEP Ohio to improve the quality and reliability of service
for our customers," said Julie
Sloat, AEP Ohio president and chief operating officer. "This
plan expands our successful gridSMART demonstration project and
allows us to reduce the number, size and duration of outages for
customers, cut energy consumption and decrease operational
costs."
The gridSMART Phase 2 plan follows a pilot program that began in
2009 in northeast central Ohio. As
part of that project, AEP Ohio installed 132,000 smart meters and
outfitted 70 electric distribution circuits with equipment to
reduce the extent and duration of outages and 17 circuits with
equipment to improve efficiency.
Smart meters provide multiple benefits to customers, including
more information and control over their energy usage and virtually
eliminating estimated meter readings. Smart meters also can detect
and report outage information to AEP Ohio so crews can restore
power faster. The completion of phase 2 will bring more than 1
million smart meters to AEP Ohio's service territory.
Over the next six years AEP Ohio will install automated
reclosers on 250 circuits. Automated reclosers provide crews with
more information to identify the cause of outages and can operate
themselves to route power around a problem.
AEP Ohio also will use Volt Var Optimization technology that
allows for the adjustment of voltage levels. Slight variations in
voltage can reduce energy usage by 2 to 3 percent and lower
customer bills without any change in a customer's equipment or
behavior. This technology will be installed on 160 circuits.
AEP Ohio delivers electricity to nearly 1.5 million customers of
AEP's subsidiary Ohio Power Co. in Ohio. AEP Ohio is based in Gahanna, Ohio, and is a unit of American
Electric Power. News and information about AEP Ohio can be
found at AEPOhio.com.
American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities
in the United States, delivering
electricity and custom energy solutions to nearly 5.4 million
customers in 11 states. AEP owns the nation's largest electricity
transmission system, a more than 40,000-mile network that includes
more 765-kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all
other U.S. transmission systems combined. AEP also operates 224,000
miles of distribution lines. AEP ranks among the nation's largest
generators of electricity, owning approximately 31,000 megawatts of
generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also supplies 3,200 megawatts
of renewable energy to customers. AEP's utility units operate as
AEP Ohio, AEP Texas, Appalachian Power (in Virginia and West
Virginia), AEP Appalachian Power (in Tennessee), Indiana Michigan Power, Kentucky
Power, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, and Southwestern Electric Power
Company (in Arkansas, Louisiana and east Texas). AEP's headquarters are in Columbus, Ohio.
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SOURCE American Electric Power